Grimsby Town U18s 4:0 Pontefract Collieries U18s
FA Youth Cup – First Qualifying Round
Thursday 22^nd September 2011

A clinical first-half display from Grimsby Town put paid to Ponte’s FA Youth Cup ambitions, although John Redford’s team recovered to put in an excellent second-half performance.

Despite the scoreline, Pontefract gained a great deal of credit from the game, and the players left the field to a standing ovation from both sets of supporters.

The game was the Academy team’s reward for beating Silsden in the Preliminary Round, with The Mariners hosting the game at Blundell Park. The ground may be the oldest remaining stadium in the Blue Square Premiership or above, but the pitch was pristine, allowing both teams to play fine, controlled football. With the ball zipping around of a damp, slick surface, Ponte struggled to cope with the one-touch passing game and fast movement of the home side. The hosts took full advantage, dominating the first half and taking a three-goal lead into the interval that proved, despite a fine second-half display from The Colls, to be unassailable.

However, before taking the lead, Grimsby were struck by an injury to right-back Lewis Smith, who suffered a knee dislocation and was replaced by Caine Winfarrah. The substitute had not been on the pitch for long before he opened the scoring, appearing at the far post to head in a cross from the right. The move typified Grimsby’s play, consisting of several first-time passes as the hosts moved the ball quickly from midfield into the danger area. Ponte contributed to their own downfall by failing to track runners effectively, seemingly bewildered by the sheer speed of Grimsby’s movement or both man and ball.

A misplaced header from Jack Hill fell to Town’s Griffin, who fed Bryant on the right. The pacy winger repeated his earlier accuracy with a pin-point cross that was headed home by Callum Walker.

With Bryant tormenting the Colls’ back line, the visitors had ‘keeper Danny Ansbro to thank for keeping them in the game, when the winger pulled the ball back into the path of Dayle Southwell, whose powerful shot was bound for the roof of the net before Ansbro tipped it over.

With Ponte struggling to get a foothold in the game, the otherwise-immaculate Callum Green caught the nervousness bug, giving the ball away to Southwell, who drove forward into the Ponte area. Thankfully for the visitors, Grant Chapman – having tracked the striker – put in a fine last-ditch challenge to deny The Mariners a third.

The escape seemed to buoy Ponte, who started to find their feet, adjust to the pace of the game, and apply some pressure to Grimsby. Green and Leon Guest started to see more of the ball, feeding wingers Ryan Barker and Jordan Turner, before the latter was replaced by Bradley Gresham after picking up a knock. Gresham settled quickly, causing problems for the hosts with several good runs, and freeing space for strikers Warren Redford and Lewis Osborne, who started to see more and more of the ball.

With Pontefract holding their own as the first half neared it’s end, John Redford and his assistant John Osborne would have been hoping to reach the break with the deficit limited to two goals. However, their hopes were dashed when Southwell, showing the decisiveness and quality of a top-class striker in waiting, waltzed past three Colls defenders before blasting the ball past Ansbro and into the net.

Despite falling further behind, Pontefract did manage to carve out their best chance of the first half as it neared the interval, when a fine move which featured Warren Redford twice, led to Ryan Barker laying the ball back into the path of Keiron Wright. The right back curled a fine cross into the area and, although The Mariners’ defenders cleared the ball, it fell to the feet of Redford, whose first time shot flew inches over the cross-bar.

A further opportunity was wasted when Osborne held onto the ball too long, wasting a good run by failing to feed either Redford on his left or Barker on his right. The move summed up Ponte’s first half display, which saw them repeatedly caught in possession when failing to move the ball quickly enough to escape Grimsby pressure.

In the first half’s final act, Keiron Wright saved his team from conceding a fourth with a gutsy block on the line when Southwell seemed certain to add to his tally.

Whatever words “The Two Johns” used at half-time worked a treat. Pontefract started the second period on the offensive. With Karl Abbott and Ryan McDermott on for Kyle Allen and Ryan Barker, the pair had also played their hand in a bold attempt to get back into the game. It almost came off, as The Colls could have wiped out the deficit in the opening minutes of the half.

Within the first minute of the half, Ponte had forced their first corner of the game. Although Grimsby cleared the initial cross, the ball eventually landed at the feet of Leon Guest, who fed Warren Redford who, having made a terrific angled run behind his marker, sent a powerful left-footed shot towards the bottom corner of Liam Higton’s net. It required a full-length save from the ‘keeper to deny Redford.

The resultant corner was pulled back to the edge of the box, where Lewis Osborne picked it up, turned and fired inches over the bar.

Osborne turned provider a minute later, popping up on the left flank from where he cut back on himself and lifted a fine cross onto the head of Ryan McDermott, whose header flashed wide.

With their renewed vigour and positive intent, Pontefract had created more chances in the first four minutes of the second half than they had in the whole of the first. Both sets of supporters started to sense a change in momentum, which would have been confirmed had Pontefract managed to turn their superiority into a goal.

Green was the next player to have a go, getting onto the end of a scruffy move that he had initiated himself, only to see his shot blocked. With Green and Guest starting to dominate the midfield and Guest starting to make his trademark runs deep into enemy territory, Ponte pushed on.

However, when the game-changing goal eventually arrived, it was scored by the home team. Southwell showed great speed of thought to push the ball to one side of his marker while running the other to meet it, before sliding the ball across the face of goal and into the path of substitute Kerr, who had the simplest of tasks to put the finishing touch to the move.

The goal killed off any hopes of a Pontefract revival. However, to their credit, The Colls’ youngsters kept their heads high, and ended the game as the dominant team. Keiron Wright delivered a free-kick from deep, that had been awarded for a foul on Redford, onto the head of Jack Hill, who had recovered from an edgy first half to put in an assured second-half display. However, Hill would have been disappointed to put his header wide of the upright when he seemed certain to score.

Warren Redford almost enjoyed the final word, beating his marker far out on the left touchline and driving goalwards before feeding his strike partner, Osborne. When Osborne’s shot was blocked, it ricocheted into the path of Redford, whose low shot flashed wide of the near post and behind for a goal kick.

The emphatic scoreline reflected Grimsby’s dominance during a first half in which Pontefract had failed to get to grips with the pace of the game, and their clinical finishing throughout. With Southwell particularly outstanding, the hosts oozed quality throughout. However, Ponte’s youngsters should take encouragement from their performance after the interval, which demonstrated their talent and their attitude without yielding any tangible reward.

For a full Facebook photograph album from the game, click here

Pontefract: Danny Ansbro, Keiran Wright, Kyle Allen (repl. Karl Abbott, HT), Jack Hill, Grant Chapman, Ryan Barker (repl. Ryan McDermott, HT), Leon Guest, Callum Green (captain), Lewis Osborne, Warren Redford, Jordan Turner (repl. Bradley Gresham, 24)

Subs not used: Andrew Sykes, Ryan Waugh